February 13, 2015
From: Leigh Ann Porsch
Phone: (847) 669-5386 ext. 35
Huntley Library Receives Digital Imaging Grant
The Huntley Area Public Library has been awarded a Digital Imaging Grant in the amount of $5,521 from the Illinois State Library. Grant funds will be used to digitize materials related to Huntley’s rich dairy and agricultural history. Also included in the grant are funds to purchase a large format scanner capable of scanning oversized documents, an external hard drive, and funds to transcribe oral histories donated to the library by the Huntley Historical Society.
Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White announced the grant. “I am pleased to award these grants in an effort to increase access to collections that hold Illinois’ historical and cultural legacy,” said White. “Documents can fade, rip or degrade over time. By preserving these items, future generations are able to connect the past to the present.”
The Huntley Area Public Library Local History collection has grown substantially over the past decade, and includes many one-of-a-kind documents which are gradually disintegrating. By digitizing these original documents, items will be preserved and accessible to everyone.
“We are very excited to begin this 18-month project,” stated Pamela Kampwerth, the library’s local history supervisor. “For the purposes of this grant we will be digitizing records pertaining to the dairy and agricultural history of Huntley including the unique and historically significant oral history interviews. Once the oral history interviews have been transcribed they will be digitized as part of this project.”
View the growing collection of historical photos and artifacts via the library’s website at www.lh.huntleylibrary.org. From this website you can access the Illinois Digital Archives, hosted by the State of Illinois. The library will be adding these agricultural related items to their current collection of digitized materials.
Help us preserve even more of Huntley’s history. If you have items related to Huntley’s agricultural history, please consider donating them to the library so they may be included in materials that will be scanned for this project. For more information or details contact Kampwerth, the Head of Volunteer and Outreach Services, at (847) 669-5386 ext. 28.
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